Your Top 50 Games: 2011 Discussion Thread

[Runa216]

02 - Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES)

This is seriously one game I'd go out on a limb and call perfect. I don't need to talk about its storied history, and how it was the game that seperated square and nintendo, but the result can't be argued with. Some of the best graphics of all time that still hold up today, some of the best videogame music I've ever heard, perfect combination of charm and sincerity, all backed up by an odd but seamlessly integrated combination of platforming and RPG elements. The world is set up like a platformer, the game is an RPG, it has traditional mario elements as well as its own lore, it has the perfect difficulty curve, plenty of side quests and easter eggs, memorable characters...I could go on but I honestly can't find a single flaw to balance it out. There's a very good reason this is so high on the list, and while Nintendo has tried to recapture the magic with the Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi games, nothing has ever or will ever truly compare to this gem.

01 - Final Fantasy VI (SNES, PS1, GBA)

Bask in the glory of Final Fantasy VI. DO IT! why? becuase it's the best final fantasy game to date, and my all time favorite game! I'll tell you a story about it, though. A long time ago, I saw this game on the shelf of my local videogame store and I decided to pick it up because I'd tried everything else and my friend recommended it to me. I hated it. I thought picking your moves instead of DOING Them was stupid, I couldn't understand what to do, I did't care about story in a game (back then), and I sucked at it. It left a sour taste in my mouth, and I decided not to play it anymore. then that same friend told me to play super Mario RPG, claiming it was a nice blend of platforming and RPG elements, so I tried that and fell in love with it. Once I finally beat Mario RPG, he told me to give this game another shot, and I did. What happened? I don't know, but it was like a switch had been flipped. Mario RPG was a nice introduction to the RPG genre and opened my eyes to the glories of turn based combat and story-driven gameplay. I played this again and was hooked for weeks until I finally finished it. By the time it was all said and done, I was a believer, and I turned right around and played it not once more, but three more times before finally retiring it to play something else for once. I have since played through this game a full three dozen times or more, and I've gotten so good at it I can beat it in a weekend (got through most of the world of balance in one sitting). Why do I love this game? Well, why wouldn't I? The protagonists are the most interesting and well developed in ANY game I've ever played, the villain is easily the most memorable and psychotic (I haven't played Suikoden 32 yet, so the jury's still out on Luca Blight), the world was beautiful, the graphics wer simple but surprisingly effective, and the plot was....wow. I know it was generic, but it's all in the presentation and Final Fantasy VI nailed it. Not to mention the Score was easily the best of its time and a strong contender for best of all time (easily in the top 10), there was plenty of side quests, and it was the perfect 'balance' between linear and nonlinear which has not been recreated in a final fantasy game since (Seriously, the world of ruin is nonlinearity incarnate). While it's not perfect, there were a few minor glitches, the game's strong points catapult it into my number 1 position. Hell, this game is so deep that I'm STILL learning new things about it! I just learned for the first time that (spoilers) Shadow is Relm's father! I'm not even kidding! Seriously if you have a GBA or a DS that plays GBA games, get Final Fantasy VI advance, it's the definitive version of this game. I have it on SNES, GBA, PS1, and on the PSN, and would gladly pay for it again if it was rereleased as a PSV title or if they gave it the Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection treatment.